Apparatus for fluid treatment of tow and yarn bundles



Se t. 25, 1962 o. H. CLAUSSEN ETAL 3,055,080

APPARATUS FOR FLUID TREATMENT OF TOW AND YARN BUNDLES Filed July 19,1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG. I

INVENTORS OLE H. CLAUSSEN HANS H. MEYER ATTORNEY Se t. 25, 1962 o. H.CLAUSSEN ETAL 8 APPARATUS FOR FLUID TREATMENT OF TOW AND YARN BUNDLESFiled July 19, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG.3

ENTORS OLE-H.CL AUSSEN HANS H. MEYER ATTORNEY Patented Sept. 25, 1%623,055,080 APPARATUS FOR FLUID TREATNIENT F TOW AND YARN BUNDLES Ole H.Claussen and Hans H. Meyer, Wilmington, Deb,

assignors to E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company,

Wilmington, Del., a corporation of Delaware Filed July 19, 196i), Ser.No. 43,892 Claims. (Cl. 281) This invention relates to apparatus forfluid treatment of yarn, and is more particularly concerned withapparatus useful in treating the filaments of yarn bundles to impartcrimp, bulk and entanglement between filaments.

Fluid jets have been employed for bulking yarn by introducing a largenumber of loops in the filaments of the yarn bundle. The apparatus hasbeen suitable for handling small bundles of filaments, such as one ortwo yarn ends. Fluid jets have also been employed for opening up largebundles of filaments, as in separating wet filaments of a tow fordrying, but the apparatus has not been suitable for imparting bulk. Anyincrease in bulk which occurred was the result of an inherent propertyof the filaments to crimp during relaxed drying, and was not caused bythe fluid treatment in the apparatus.

An object of the present invention is to provide an improved apparatusfor fluid treatment of bundles of continuous filaments in the form oftow as well as yarn to impart such desirable properties as crimp, bulkor interlacing of filaments (controlled interfilament entanglement).Another object is to provide such an apparatus which is particularlysuitable for imparting crimp and bulk to high denier bundles offilaments, i.e., for simultaneous treatment of a large number offilaments. A further object is to provide such an apparatus which issuitable for the simultaneous treatment of a plurality of yarns to crimpand bulk the yarns and also impart a high degree of entanglement betweenfilaments of different yarn bundles to produce a product in the form ofa cohesive sheet of highly entangled and bulked filaments.

A still further object is to provide such an apparatus which is suitablefor simultaneously treating a plurality of yarns to produce a sheet ofcrimped and bulked filaments, but wherein the individual yarn endsretain their identities and are easily separable. become apparent fromthe description of the invention and the appended claims.

In accordance with the present invention, apparatus suitable forprocessing large bundles of continuous filaments, such as a tow or groupof yarns, is provided which comprises fluid jet means having aslit-shaped noz- 5 zle to create a turbulent stream of high velocityfluid, yarn inlet means for feeding the filaments as a flattened bundleor sheet through the turbulent stream, a screen or other foraminoussurface for receiving the filaments after passage through the turbulentstream and for separating the filaments from the treating fluid, andmeans for removing the treated filaments from the receiving surface inthe form of a bulked sheet. The fluid jet is provided with means forsupplying the slit-shaped nozzle with a high velocity stream of acompressible fluid having a plasticizing action on the continuousfilaments. By plasticizing action" is meant a softening of the filamentsby heat or solvent, or a combination of both. Means are provided fordirecting the plasticizing fluid through the Other objects willslit-shaped nozzle in a flat turbulent stream to soften and crimp thefilaments and drive the filaments against the receiving surface withsufiicient force to heighten the crimp of the filaments and bulk of theproduct. The apparatus has been found to provide a much more effectiveand uniform treatment of the filaments than is the case when apparatushaving nozzles of circular crosssection are used, particularly whentreating filament bundles of high total denier. Changes in the apparatusto handle different sizes of filament bundles are readily made. Thesheet form of product is particularly useful in certain applications,but the apparatus is also adapted to process yarns so that theindividual yarns can again be separated after treatment.

In the drawings, which illustrate preferred embodiments of the apparatusof this invention,

FIGURE 1 is an end view of a fluid jet forming a part of the apparatus,illustrating particularly the yarn inlet member,

FIGURE 2 is a cross-sectional side elevation of the fluid jet, on line2-2 of FIGURE 1, showing also a screen roll for receiving filamentarymaterial from the FIGURE 3 is diagrammatic plan view of an arrangementof apparatus, including means for feeding filamentary material, such asa yarn warp, to the jet for treatment and means for collecting thebulked product from the screen roll of the apparatus,

FIGURE 4 is a side elevation corresponding to FIG- URE 3, and

FIGURE 5 is a side elevation similar to FIGURE 4 but having a screenbelt instead of a screen roll in combination with the jet.

The construction of the fluid jet will be apparent from thecross-sectional view of FIGURE 2. The jet comprises a main housing 10, ayarn entry member, 12, a nozzle member 14-, and fluid supply means tothe nozzle including a fluid chamber 16 within the main housing andfluid conduits 18 and 20 from a suitable source of of pressurized fluid.The fluid passes from conduits 18 and 20 into the chamber through ports22 and 24, respectively, in the main housing. Perforated plates 26 and28 are arranged across the ports to provide uniform flow of fluid intoall parts of the slit-shaped fluid exit from the chamber. The nozzlemember 14- projects into the chamber through throat 30 in the mainhousing. A sliding fit is provided so that the member is adjustable forinsertion, retraction or removal. A pressure-tight fit is provided bypacking 32. The member is held in position by bolts 34- and 36. Thefluid exits from the chamher through slit-shaped nozzle passageway 38,where it acts on the yarn filaments.

Yarn entry member 12 projects into the chamber through throat in themain housing on the opposite side from the nozzle member. This yarnentry member is likewise adjustable in or out, being held in position bybolts 42 and 44, and a pressure-tight fit is provided by packing 46. Theinner end of the yarn member extends :into the nozzle passageway 38 toprovide a fluid opening 4'8 above and a fluid opening below. Adjustmentof the relative positions of the yarn member and nozzle :member variesthe size of these openings to control the tflow of fluid into the nozzlepassageway.

The yarn passageway 52 of the yarn entry member 12 is a slit-shapedorifice of generally rectangular cross-see tion, which may have sharpcorners as shown in FIG- URE 1. Rounded corners are also suitable andmay be preferable if a one-piece yarn member construction is to beemployed instead of that shown. The height of this slit should besufficient to accommodate the filaments without appreciable friction andnevertheless prevent a back flow of fluid from the nozzle passageway.The width of the slit should be at least 10 times, and preferably atleast 20 times, as wide as the height of the yarn passageway at theinner end where the filaments enter the fluid stream in the nozzlepassageway. In FIGURES 1 and 2 the yarn passageway is shown as havinguniform dimensions throughout, except for the flared entranceway 54where the yarn is introduced. A passageway which has a, decreasing tapertowards the inner end is also suitable. The optimum dimensions willdepend upon the denier and number of filaments in the case of tow, andalso upon the size, twist and number of yarns when yarns are treatedinstead of tow. For example, when treating a warp of 120 ends of yarn,each yarn being of 1020 total denier and composed of 68 filaments, /2Ztwist made from polyhexamethylene adipamide, suitable slit dimensionsare M inch high and 4 inches wide. Suitable dimensions for otherfilament feed conditions are readily determined in actual practice. Theapparatus construction shown makes substitution of different yarnmembers a simple matter.

The yarn entry member 12 is shown in FIGURE 1 as composed of similarupper and lower sections 56 and 58, either or both being channeled onthe surface to provide the yarn slit, which are locked together by sideplates 60 and 62. Each of these sections tapers down to a fine edge atthe innermost end, the angle 64 shown being about 7.5 The nozzle member14 is likewise formed of two sections 66 and 68 locked together by sideplates, the external appearance being substantially the same as inFIGURE 2 except for the height of the nozzle slit. The inner end of thegenerally rectangular slit-shaped nozzle passageway 38 diverges at anangle of about 20 in the embodiment illustrated in FIGURE 2, i.e., thehalf-angle 70 on each section is about 10, to form a wedge-shapedopening about the end of the yarn member. In general, the half angle 70can be from 5 to 35, and is preferably 5" -15. For treating the 120 yarnwarp indicated above, the height of this opening at the end of the yarnmember 12 may suitably be about inch. The width is about the same asthat of the yarn entry member slit, i.e., about 4 inches for the aboveexemplification. The wedge-shaped portion of passage 38 continues totaper for about inch from the end of the yarn member to a height ofabout /a inch.

As illustrated in FIGURE 2, the height of the nozzle slit remains atinch for a distance of about 1% inches. However, this portion of thepassageway may be varied considerably in distance of travel and, insteadof having the cross-section illustrated in FIGURE 2, may have agradually increasing taper, or a straight section followed by agradually increasing taper, or a decreasing stepped taper followed by anincreasing taper. The height of the slit then increases to about 4 inchin the last /2 inch to provide the jet outlet 72. Optimum dimensions fortreatment under other filament feed conditions, e.g., other deniers ofyarn warp or tows, are readily determined in actual practice and theapparatus con- 7 struction makes it simple to substitute other nozzlemembers.

A screen-surfaced roll 74 is positioned just beyond the jet outlet 72 toreceive filamentary material and separate it from the exhausting fluid.The roll is supported by bearing 76, which is adjustable vertically andhorizontally to vary the position and angle of the screen surfacerelative to the jet outlet. The roll is rotated by means not shown to asuitable speed dependent upon the rate of yarn feed to the jet, the typeof yarn and the treatment. When feeding the 120 yarn warp mentionedpreviously to the jet at a speed of 65 yards per minute, the roll issuitably driven at a surface speed of 25 yards per minute with thesurface positioned at a distance of 1 to 1 inch from the nozzle exit.The roll is also positioned so that the angle 78 formed by the axisplane of the jet slit 38 and the plane tangent to the roll surface atthe line of intersection of said axis plane must be somewhat greaterthan a right-angle to avoid pile-up. An angle of about 100 is suitable.In general, the angle should be between 95 and 135 FIGURES 3 to 5 showcomplete embodiments of apparatus for processing a warp of yarns. Yarns80 from a suitable source are forwarded at a controlled speed throughfeed rolls 82 and are directed by yarn guide 84 into yarn member 12 ofthe jet as a sheet of yarns. Normally several yarn ends will be fedthrough each opening of the yarn guide. Superheated steam or otherplasticizing compressible fluid is fed to the jet through conduits 18and 20 so that the yarns are sucked into the jet for treatment. Thefilaments of the yarns are softened and crimped by the turbulent actionof the steam and deposited as a bulked sheet on the foraminous surfaceof roll 74. The steam escapes through the surface and the bulked sheetis conveyed away from the jet until it has set sufiiciently for removal.The sheet is then removed from the foraminous surface as a coherentbulked sheet 86 by take-up rolls 88. The sheet is shown being depositedin a carton 90 as illustrative of various conventional packagingprovisions which can be used. A screen belt 92 can be used instead ofroll 74 to receive the yarn sheet from the jet, as shown in FIGURE 5.

The foraminous surface upon which the bulked yarn impinges after itleaves the exit of the jet will normally be in the form of a perforatedscreen having openings of suitable size, e.g., a 30-mesh screen, so thatthe plasticizing fluid my freely escape through the screen, whereas thebulked yarn will be impinged upon and deflected by the screen. Theforaminous surface may be in the form of a cylinder, a belt, or a disc.Suitable embodiments include screens mounted on a roll, on a belt, or onany other supporting means, and unmounted screens passing over rollerguides. The screen may be stationary or may be moved with respect to thejet. By using a stationary screen, angle 78 becomes more critical and,therefore, it is preferred to use a moving screen surface. Theforaminous surface may be composed of a metal screen preferably made ofstainless steel, but it may also be made of plastic, glass, ceramic orother material. It may also be a perforated sheet or belt, closelyspaced parallel wires or the like. The perforations can be in the formof holes or slots of uniform or varying dimen sions which will serve toretain the yarn on the surface and pass the treating fluid therethrough.

The turbulent fluid used to treat yarn in the apparatus of thisinvention may be any compressible fluid or vapor capable of plasticizingthe filamentary material. Superheated steam, e.g., 400 steam at 24pounds per sq. in., is the preferred fluid for treating most yarns andother filamentary material, but other fluids include air and organicvapors chosen because of their plastieizing action on the particularfilamentary materials being treated. The filamentary material which maybe treated in the apparatus of this invention may take different forms,such as monofilament yarns, tow, a sheet of Warp ends, and the like.Particularly suitable for processing in the apparatus of this inventionare a warp of yarn or a tow bundle having a total denier between 50,000and 150,000 when using the particular dimensions of the jet given forthe particular embodiment discussed in connection with FIGURES 1 and 2.

The apparatus of this invention may be used to crimp and bulk anynatural or synthetic plasticizable fibrous structures composed ofcontinuous filaments. Examples of such filamentary materials includepolyamides, such as polyhexamethylene adipamide, polycaproamide, andcopolyamides; polyesters and copolyesters, such as the condensationproducts of ethylene glycol with terephthalic acid (polyethyleneterephthalate), ethylene glycol with a 90/10 mixture ofterephthalic/isophthalic acids, ethylene glycol with a 98/2 mixture ofterephthalic/S- (sodium sulfo)-isophthalic acids, andtrans-p-hexahydroxylylene glycol with terephthalic acid; acrylonitrilepolymers, such as polyacrylonitrile, polymers of acrylonitrile withvinylidene chloride, vinyl chloride or methyl acrylate; vinyl chlorideand vinylidene chloride polymers and copolymers; polyurethanes,polyester amides, polyethylenes, polypropylenes, polycarbonates;fluorinated ethylene polymers and copolymers such aspolytetrafluoroethylene and polymonochlorotrifluoroethylene; cellulosederivatives, such as cellulose acetate and regenerated cellulose; andthe like.

The temperature of the fluid medium used in the jet must be regulated sothat the filamentary material does not melt. Usually when treatingfilaments made from fusible polymers the most effective bulking andcrimping is obtained when the temperature of the fluid is above themelting point of the fiber. In such a situation, the speed of the movingyarn should be great enough to prevent melting of the filamentssufficiently to cause loss of their fibrous nature. The foraminoussurface upon which the bulked yarn impinges may be at ambienttemperature or it may be independently cool.

The crimped and bulked yarns and other filamentary products treated inthe apparatus of this invention possess the same general characteristicsof crimp geometry; namely, a random curvilinear crimp essentially freeof crunodal loops, and the bulked products having approximately the sametensile strength, crystallinity, dye rate and the like as the crimpedproducts described by Breen and Lauterbach in copending U.S. applicationSerial No. 842,524, filed September 25, 1959. The filamentary materialsfed to the apparatus of this invention may be either twisted or nottwisted. By using twisted feed yarns having a twist above one turn perinch a sheet of bulked yarns is produced from which individual yarns maybe easily separated from the sheet.

The chief advantage of this invention is the provision of an improvedcrimping apparatus that is particularly adapted for processingfilamentary materials of high total denier (e.g., greater than 50,000)to produce a bulked product preferably in the form of a cohesivesheet-like structure wherein filaments from adjacent filamentary bundlesare highly entangled. The sheet of bulked filaments has a higheruniformity of crimp geometry from filament to filament compared withproducts bulked by feeding through jets having circular entrances. Thisincreased uniformity is due to the fact that the high denier filamentarymaterial as it enters the slit or rectangular opening 52 of the jetillustrated in FIGURES 1 and 2 i in the form of a spread-out filamentarysheet of uniform density across' the whole width of the opening 52, andthe uniformity is also due to the fact that at the point where thefilamentary material contacts the plasticizingfluid inside the jet atthe junction of yarn slit 52. and the fluid passageway 38, thefilamentary material is also in the form of a sheet and the applicationof steam is of uniform velocity, temperature, and other characteristicsacross the whole width of the passageway. This is in contrast to theeffect obtained by feeding hi h denier filamentary bundles to similarjets of the prior art which have yarn entrances of circular or othernon-rectangular cross sections. In such instances, the steam or otherplasticizing fluid changes in velocity and temperature as it penetratesfrom the outside of the high denier bundle to the inside at the point ofcontact between the plasticizing fluid and bundle, and hence, the fluiddoes not affect each filament to the same extent with respect to theamount of crimp produced as well as its tensile and other physicalproperties. These nonuniformity efiects become increasingly morepronounced the higher the total denier of the feed bundle, leading togreater variations in properties between each individual bulkedfilament. Highly bulked products may be produced by using low twist orzero twist yarns or tow where easy separation of the yarns or filamentsis not essential in the bulked product. Alternatively, if yarnseparation is desired in the bulked products some twist should beimparted to the yarn before processing in the apparatus of thisinvention. In this instance, the bulked product possesses yarns whichare easily separated but the degree of bulk imparted to the yarns issomewhat lower than when using untwisted feed yarns. Instead of feedingtwisted yarns to the treating apparatus of this invention, it is alsopossible to feed false twisted yarns or interlaced yarns.

Another advantage of the apparatus of this invention is that it isdesigned to permit changes in the width of the rectangular opening forthe filamentary bundle so that it is possible to accommodate differentsizes of high denier bundles and still obtain reproducible uniformity ofcrimp, bulk, tensile, and other physical properties between individualfilaments in the bulked products. This is not possible when crimpinghigh denier filamentary bundles in jet openings having non-rectangularcross sections.

The bulked filamentary cohesive sheets made from untwisted yarns in theapparatus of this invention are useful for interliners, cushions,pillows, or any other product where gross relative displacement offibers is objectionable.

It is to be understood that the specific dimensions of the jet describedabove may be varied to a wide extent depending upon the particularfilamentary material being fed to the apparatus.

Since many different embodiments of the invention may be made Withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope thereof, it is to be understood thatthe invention is not limited by the specific illustrations except to theextent defined in the following claims.

We claim:

1. Apparatus for fluid treatment of filaments of tow and yarn bundleswhich comprises a jet housing, a nozzle member mounted in one sidethereof having a slit-shaped nozzle orifice, a filament entry member inthe form of a slit-shaped filament passageway of generally rectangularcross-section having a width at least 10 times the height mounted in theopposite side of the housing and projecting into the inlet end of saidnozzle for feeding a flattened bundle of filaments to the slit-shapedorifice for treatment, fluid supply means to the nozzle includingslit-shaped fluid openings between the filament entry member and theinlet end of the nozzle member for introducing streams of treating fluidto crimp the filaments and pass with the filaments through theslit-shaped orifice, filament receiving means positioned closelyadjacent to the outlet of the slit-shaped orifice so that the portion ofthe receiving surface nearest to the outlet forms an angle of about towith the axis plane of the orifice slit for separating exiting filamentsfrom the stream of treating fluid, said receiving means having aforaminous surface for receiving the filaments in the form of a bulkedsheet and for passage of treating fluid therethrough, and means forremoving the treated filaments from the receiving surface as acontinuous sheet.

2. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein the surface of said filamentreceiving means is positioned at a distance of A to 1 inch from the thenozzle exit.

3. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein means are provided for movingthe receiving surface in a direction away from said axis plane to removethe bulked sheet from the stream of treating fluid.

4. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said filament receiving meansis a rotating roll having a screen surface.

5. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said filament receiving meansis a moving screen belt.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,067,251 Taylor Jan. 12, 1937 2,313,630 Dockerty Mar. 9, 1943 2,318,243McClure May 4, 1943 8 Mummery July 3, 1945 Lodge Feb. 10, 1948 BureshOct. 19, 1948 Breen Sept. 23, 1958 Jones et a1. Mar. 29, 1960 FOREIGNPATENTS France Feb. 15, 1960

